douche
Americannoun
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a jet or current of water, sometimes with a dissolved medicating or cleansing agent, applied to a body part, organ, or cavity for medicinal or hygienic purposes.
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the application of such a jet.
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an instrument, as a syringe, for administering it.
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a bath administered by such a jet.
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Slang: Vulgar. douchebag.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a stream of water or air directed onto the body surface or into a body cavity, for cleansing or medical purposes
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the application of such a stream of water or air
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an instrument, such as a special syringe, for applying a douche
verb
Other Word Forms
- undouched adjective
Etymology
Origin of douche
First recorded in 1675–85; from French, from Italian doccia “water pipe,” back formation from doccione “drainpipe” (where -one was interpreted as an augmentative suffix), from Latin ductiōn- (stem of ductiō ) “drawing off, conveying (water),” equivalent to duct(us), past participle of dūcere “to draw along” + -iōn- noun suffix; ductile, -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But he was also accused of being an “Instagram douche meets cult leader” and “Steve Jobs meets Jim Jones”.
From The Guardian • Jan. 9, 2020
“We don’t like what we see now & sadly ppl still romanticize, venerate and imitate huge douche bags from the past. So calling it out is right.”
From Fox News • Feb. 20, 2019
Indeed, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend that women do not douche, and that they allow the vagina to maintain its normal healthy population of protective microbial flora.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
They’ll occasionally refresh the douche line “with more relevant and modern fragrances,” according to Bryant.
From Slate • Nov. 21, 2011
In truth, I know of no sensible hydropathist who, in such a case, would rely upon the douche alone; which is to concede, practically, all that I desire to claim.
From Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders Cogitations and Confessions of an Aged Physician by Alcott, William A. (William Andrus)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
